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Mark Philippoussis is happy with the tennis calendar in its current state and believes players who are complaining of fatigue don’t have a leg to stand on when they pick up big appearance fees at smaller events.

The length of the season was raised by Alexander Zverev at the ATP Finals, with the young German taking aim at the lack of off-season available to top players.

Roger Federer wasn’t convinced by Zverev’s argument and outlined his view that the system in its current form offers opportunities to the many rather than just the elite stars.

Zverev was backed by Novak Djokovic – who suggested a South American swing at the end of the year to tackle Federer’s concerns over a loss of jobs – and the Serb has also become more and more vocal at the problems with the current scheduling.

Djokovic backed Zverev (Picture: Getty)

Philippoussis, who reached two Grand Slam finals during his career, disagrees with that assessment, and thinks players can be guilty of forgetting how ‘incredibly fortunate’ they are.

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‘I think it [the schedule] is done well,’ the Australian told Metro.co.uk ahead of his Champions Tennis appearance at the Royal Albert Hall.

‘The only difference is we’re the only sport in the world with no off-season. That’s the difference.

‘But Federer said it perfectly, right? It’s different for someone like Federer or guys who are comfortable, getting paid well that can take weeks off. At the end of the day we have a job where you can walk away for a month, a week, two weeks, six months. You’ve got sponsors but if mentally you need to get away for a month, you can do that.

Philippoussis is in Federer’s camp (Picture: Getty)

‘What other job can you do that, right? Tennis players are incredibly fortunate to be in that position. They don’t have an off-season but at the same time you don’t have to play 34 tournaments a year, you can play 16. Guys who are complaining about playing too much are the same guys playing 30-something tournaments a year.

‘You don’t have to play, they’re the ones who are electing to do it. After the Grand Slam and the Masters events where they don’t get paid appearance fees, the times where you normally get time off is when these other tournaments are offering you 200 grand, 300 grand to play – and that’s why these guys aren’t saying no. They’re saying yes, they’re playing.’

Appearance fees have been a hot topic of debate since Julien Benneteau accused Federer’s agent Tony Godsick of demanding $2million to compete in Rotterdam in 2018, while Zverev himself has been known to command a large sum to appear at lesser events.

Federer’s agent has been accused of chasing high appearance fees (Picture: Getty)

But Philippoussis isn’t concerned by the culture.

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‘Yeah but it’s sport, right? That’s what it is,’ he added.

‘You don’t have to play it, you can say no. It’s just tough to say no when someone is throwing 200k at you to come to an event. It might be one match. Worst case scenario it’s six days.

‘You’re very fortunate to have that lifestyle and you’ve worked hard for it, you deserve it. But then don’t complain you’re playing too much.’